Battelle Healthcare Colloquium Recognizes Levine Children's Hospital as First Accredited Pediatric Heart Failure Institute in the Carolinas

COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwired - May 25, 2016) -  The Battelle Healthcare Colloquium has recognized Levine Children's Hospital as an Accredited Pediatric Heart Failure Institute. Levine Children's is the first pediatric facility in the Carolinas and the 11th in the nation to earn this distinction.

"Dr. Gonzalo Wallis and the entire team at the Levine Children's Hospital constructed a phenomenal team to help improve the care of children with heart failure. I was thrilled to see the level of commitment and focus that they are bringing together to improve the lives of their patients. Congratulations on being recognized as a center of excellence in the care of children with heart failure," said Dr. Jeffrey Gossett, Medical Director of Cardiology Ward Service at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and Associate Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who was part of the review team for Levine Children's Hospital.

"During the past couple of years, Levine Children's Hospital has been growing a comprehensive team devoted to treating children with heart failure. To be the only children's hospital in North Carolina recognized by Battelle Healthcare Colloquium as an accredited pediatric heart failure institute demonstrates our world class care and commitment to our patients and families," said Dr. Gonzalo Wallis, Medical Director of Levine Children's Hospital's Pediatric Heart Failure Program. "We are honored and privileged to receive this distinction, and will continue to strive to provide the best care possible to all the families that entrust us with their loved ones."

Battelle Healthcare Colloquium's unique accreditation process builds on the member hospital's prior improvement experience. Working within Battelle Healthcare Colloquium's continuum of care model, member hospitals select milestones within four established domains of heart failure -- Community, Hospital, Clinician, and Science. As part of their accreditation milestone work, Levine Children's Hospital focused on building heart failure awareness in their community. One of the hospital's most popular community screening programs is their Heart of a Champion Day where more than 3,000 high school student-athletes in surrounding communities are screened for cardiac and medical conditions that could potentially result in sudden cardiac death and heart failure due to undiagnosed heart defects.